The 2013 NORA Symposium was held Thursday, May 2, 2013 in the Mayo Memorial Auditorium at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The featured speaker was David Hemenway, PhD. Dr. Hemenway is a Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. He received the Excellence in Science award from the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association, fellowships from the Pew, Soros and Robert Wood Johnson foundations, as well as ten HSPH teaching awards. In 2012, he was recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the 20 “most influential injury and violence professionals over the past 20 years.”

The topic of the symposium was “Gun Violence Prevention, with Implications for Occupational Health and Safety”. Dr. Hemenway’s presentation focused on the public health approach to preventing gun violence, and the role for occupational health and safety professionals. Compared to the rest of the developed world, the United States has a horrific gun violence problem. There is currently a window of opportunity to effectively address this problem.

The event also included a pre-symposium poster viewing, as well as introductions and brief presentations made by:

Sue Gerberich, Ph.D.
Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences and Director, Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

William A. Toscano, Ph.D.
Professor and Division Head, Division of Environmental Health Sciences

John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor and Dean, School of Public Health

View the video and slides of the symposium | View photos from the symposium on Flickr